Thursday, February 27, 2014

Playgroup Football Training

Today we went to Freedom Park with our friends to play on the Panthers PLAY60 area.
The football team put up a mock training facility for the children to train on.
We went a few weeks ago with Patrick and Finn, and had so much fun it was time to come back.
Over/Under and Weave thru...
Spin around!
Race to the end zone!

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Art with friends

Today Athena and Sebastian came over for a playdate. The kids alternated from the playroom to Sullys room and played beautifully together.  After lunch and playing we all went to Noahs Art.  Sully painted a rainbow and did some other activities but mainly focused on the toys! Athena made some beautiful bracelets and sweet Sebastian had the most fun at the sink washing his hands!  the kids all enjoyed story time before the play date was over. It was a fun way to spend the morning!

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Weekend with Friends

This past weekend was one of those weekends where we realized how lucky we are to have such wonderful friends surrounding us.  It was FILLED with friends, old and new, and brought us so many smiles.

On Friday, we had a special Pizza Night with the Poole Girls.  
The kids all played outside before coming in and making their own pizzas, 
complete with personalized Chef hats. 
There was so much silliness and laughter, it was contagious - and so much fun! 
 We started our Saturday with a special lunch at the Pluchos Home 
with all our old neighborhood friends.  It was so nice to have everyone together.
 Chris made delicious chili for the adults and pizza for the kids.
 This was our best attempt at getting all 8 kids to smile for the camera!
 In the afternoon, we celebrated Ashton's 4th Birthday. 
He had a baseball themed party and the boys had a blast. 
Saturday evening, Gill and I went NODA with Kara and Andrew.  
We had another memorable night out, but no pictures were blog-worthy!  ;)

After church on Sunday, we went to Nannie and PopPop's house
 to celebrate Mom's 67th Birthday.
 Mom made spaghetti and meatballs and we brought 2 cakes and lots of candles.
WHAT A WEEKEND!

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Valentine's playgroup

Today Sully finally had his Valentine's playdate with his buddies.  Because of all the snow it had been delayed several times. Sully and I met his buddies at the playground.  They enjoyed yummy treats, played and exchanged Valentines. 
What a bunch of Heartbreakers!

Monday, February 17, 2014

Valentine's and Marathon Weekend

This weekend was a big weekend for our family.  On Friday, we woke up and had a special Valentine's Breakfast.  The boys made special Valentine's for mom and dad, and we had some sweets, books and dvds for each of the boys.
By about 10:30, the snow and ice had melted enough that we were ready to hit the road and go to Myrtle Beach.  It took us a bit longer, because we stayed on the major highways instead of the more direct route, but we arrived safe and sound.  The first thing we did was head to the Myrtle Beach Convention center so I could pickup my packet for the Myrtle Beach Marathon.

I've done a couple half marathons, and plenty of shorter runs, but this was my first full marathon.  I've been training for about 5 months and felt as ready as I could be.  With the countdown clock and map of the run in the background, posing for this picture made it all feel real!
 We checked in to our hotel, and as we promised the boys, headed straight to the giant indoor water park.  It was so humid in there, I didn't even try to get many pictures.  But, there was a sprayground, lazy river, 2 water slides, a water basketball court, and much more.  The boys were in heaven!
By the time we were done with swimming for the night, Mom and Dad had arrived.  We all went out for a not-very-glamorous Valentine's Day dinner.  Mom even made the boys special Valentine's Day cookies for dessert.  Then, it was off to bed, I had a big day ahead of me.

Saturday, February 15th, I woke up VERY early and got ready.  I headed out the door before 5:30am and took a cab to the start of the marathon.  It was pouring rain, but luckily I found a small spot under one of the 2 tiny tents they had set up, and no one kicked me out!
 
It was hard to imagine, even as I crossed the starting line, that it was actually happening.  But soon, I got into the grove, enjoyed the scenery (and my music), and started knocking out the miles.  Perhaps one of the most pivotal moments was when they divided the route and sent the Half Marathoners in one direction and the Marathoners continued on.  At that point, I knew there was no turning back!

Mile 14 gave me a big boost when I saw my cheering section!  Standing there in the cold were Mom, Dad, Gill, Patrick, Sully and Finnegan.  They held signs and wore personalized shirts for me.  It was awesome.  I stopped for a minute, so Gill could refill all my drinks.  Finny said it was my "pit stop".  
As I jumped back on the course, Mom made me laugh by commenting "the pink is working for you", referring to my new running outfit!  I told the boys I would see them at the finish line, and I was off!

I won't lie, around mile 22, things started to get hard.  My dear friend Melissa prepared me for that.  She told me that I would hit "the wall" and talked me through how to conquer it.  Thank goodness for Melissa.  It wasn't easy.  By mile 24, my mind was playing tricks on my body, but I knew what to do, and before I knew it, I was turning the corner to the finish line!  

They announced my name as I came up to the line.  I saw Mom before anyone else, and she was cheering so loud!  Then, I looked up, and somehow my dad had gotten up on a basket tower and was looking down on me taking pictures!  As I crossed the finish line, there were Gill and the boys.  Such an amazing moment.  The volunteer shouted at me "you can stop running now" and placed a medal around my neck.
My bib number was 2098.  I think it was appropriate.

When I started the race, I felt like a 20 year old.
When I ended the race, I felt like a 98 year old.
My final chip time was 4:38.  I'm thrilled with that.  My goal was to come in under 5 hours and as close to 4:30 as I could get.  I'm happy with my time.

After the race, we went back to the hotel.  I took a bath and rested for a while.  Mom and Dad headed home, and Gill ordered us some lunch.  We spent the afternoon at the waterpark again and then had dinner in the room.  

 On Sunday, after the buffet breakfast, we went to the beach.  It was very cold and windy, but that didn't stop the boys from playing, collecting sea shells, chasing the birds and building sand castles.
It was a great weekend, one that I will never forget.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Another Snow Day

We woke up this morning to over 6 inches of snow and it was still coming down!
We spent a couple hours in the neighborhood park.  
The boys had a great time sledding, throwing snowballs and building snowmen.
 Gill built a giant snowman... and we think it resembles him quite a bit!
 The boys had a big snowball fight,
then cleaned all the snow of my car, while I started to make the hot chocolate.